Nov 8, 2022
My vote is a red as my shirt ♥️
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My vote is a red as my shirt ♥️
How To Lose a Primary, 2020-Style
So far in 2020, four House incumbents have lost renomination to their seats (five if you count New York Democrat Eliot Engel, though absentee ballots in New York haven't been tabulated). But there are ... differences between what causes a Republican and a Democrat to lose their own party's nomination. For example, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) was one of the most conservative members of his caucus -- opposing abortion rights, gay rights, and Obmaa care -- despite representing a D+6 seat. If you're wondering how he got elected in the first place, the answer is that the seat was previously held by his own father who -- in classic machine fashion -- won renomination and then announced his retirement, inducing the local party to hand the nomination to his son. He was defeated by Marie Newman, who narrowly lost a challenge in 2018 and by all appearances is a perfectly normal Democrat. This is not at all abnormal. Contrast that to what happened last night, where Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) was stunningly unseated by conservative activist Lauren Boebert. Nobody had the race on their radar because Tipton, who enjoyed Trump's endorsement, hardly seemed to have committed any sins against the conservative movement which would generate primary opposition (The Onion notwithstanding). So what was it about Boebert which caused her to surge to victory? Well, she's a qAnon-endorsing conspiracy theorist whose main claim to fame is running a bar called "Shooters" where the staff openly carries guns and which defied orders to shutdown in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic. Of course, it's not always better when the incumbent loses because of their apostasies -- particularly when one considers what counts as "apostasy" in the modern GOP. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) also enjoyed Trump's backing, but lost renomination in a "drive-through convention" to far-right challenger Bob Good. Riggleman's wrongdoing? He officiated a same-sex wedding for two of his former staffers. That's enough to get you bounced in the 2020 Republican Party. But I guess Republicans did manage to dislodge their most openly White supremacist member this year -- so good on them for that. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/3eRKguh
One of America’s most conservative congressmen is locked in a tight renomination battle against an opponent endorsed by former President Don
If Trump's guy can't win easily, then Trump's endorsement isn't that powerful.
5.29.24 Daily Thought #bobgood
On Tuesday, voters in Ohio enshrined protection for reproductive rights in the state constitution, while voters in Virginia gave control of
Kyle Mantyla at RWW:
On Tuesday, voters in Ohio enshrined protection for reproductive rights in the state constitution, while voters in Virginia gave control of both legislate chambers to Democrats, thereby thwarting Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plans to enact abortion restrictions in the state. On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia appeared on the “Victory News” program, where he declared that in the wake of these losses, Republicans must become even more uncompromising and extreme on the issue of abortion. “We are right on every issue; the Democrats are wrong on every issue,” Good proclaimed. “That’s why they frantically cling to abortion as the only issue that they think may work for them, and in some cases it has demonstrated that it does.”
On Wednesday's edition of The Victory Channel's Victory News, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) responded to the Ohio abortion rights referendum passage by stating that the GOP must become more extreme in opposing abortion. Polling and results reveal that Good's stance would hurt his party even more if it went down that path.
From the 11.08.2023 edition of The Victory Channel's Victory News:
Their proposal would make Social Security fully solvent through taxes on higher earners and corporations.
Arthur Delaney and Daniel Marans at HuffPost:
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and progressive Democrats on Monday reintroduced a bill to increase Social Security retirement benefits and shore up the program’s finances solely by taxing corporations and the wealthy.
Sanders has introduced identical bills in the past, including in 2022, but the newest version of the legislation comes out amid a national debate over Social Security between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans.
Seizing on proposals like Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s plan to force Congress to renew all federal programs every five years and a House GOP plan to raise the program’s eligibility age, Biden has accused Republicans of wanting to use “debt ceiling” negotiations to force cuts to the popular program. The GOP has forcefully denied that it would include Social Security in debt-ceiling talks — a concession that Biden sounded prepared to accept at last week’s State of the Union address.
Sanders’ legislation pushes the boundaries of the present debate over Social Security still further to the left by asking Republicans to respond to the prospect of both bigger benefits and heftier taxes.
“At a time when nearly half of older Americans have no retirement savings and almost 50 percent of our nation’s seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $25,000 a year, our job is not to cut Social Security,” Sanders said in a release. “Our job is to expand Social Security so that every senior in America can retire with the dignity that they deserve and every person with a disability can live with the security they need.”
Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act is unlikely to become law, but it lays down a marker for the progressive position — namely that there’s no need to cut future benefits in order close the gap between the program’s projected spending and revenue. The bill serves as an implicit response to complaints from conservative policy experts that the program’s funding gap cannot be closed entirely through tax increases on high earners.
Brian Riedl, a fiscal policy scholar at the conservative Manhattan Institute, acknowledged last week that Sanders’ 2022 proposal, which is identical to the new one, would extend the program’s solvency for a few decades.
But, Riedl wrote on Twitter, “That leaves few ‘tax the rich’ options to close the Medicare gap that is 2-3 times larger. The math doesn’t work.”
Unlike most other federal programs, Social Security is entirely self-funded, meaning that it cannot borrow to pay out promised benefits.
As a result of the ongoing retirement of the historically large Baby Boomer generation, the program is slated to fall short of the revenue needed to pay out future benefits in the coming years. If Congress fails to make any changes to the program, Social Security will only have enough money to fund 80% of scheduled benefits beginning in 2035. That would amount to an across-the-board 20% cut in benefits.
To ensure the program can pay out future benefits and then some, Sanders proposes subjecting earnings over $250,000 to the 12.4% payroll tax while not counting the new taxed earnings toward a person’s benefits. As of this year, only $160,200 of wage income is subject to payroll taxes. Sanders proposes levying other taxes as well, such as subjecting investment income over $200,000 to payroll taxes.
Sanders released a letter Monday from Social Security’s Office of the Chief Actuary declaring that his legislation “would extend the ability of the [Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance] program to pay scheduled benefits in full and on time throughout the 75-year projection period.”
In addition, the new revenue Sanders’ bill would generate for Social Security enables him to finance a more generous benefit formula that would increase the benefits of low- and moderate-income earners by about 15%. He would also tie the size of benefits to a consumer price index designed to account for seniors’ higher living costs.
Republicans have signaled since last year that they would demand major cuts to federal spending in exchange for supporting legislation to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit this year. The Treasury Department hit the limit last month and has resorted to “extraordinary measures” in order to pay the government’s bills. If the cap isn’t lifted, the government could fail to make payments to bondholders and even beneficiaries of federal programs like Social Security. A financial crisis and recession could result.
Good on Sen. Sanders (I/D) for countering the GOP's attacks on Social Security with proposing a bill boosting SS benefits called the Social Security Expansion Act.
Biden Vows to Veto House Republicans’ ‘Fair Tax Act’ Proposing Elimination of IRS
Biden Vows to Veto House Republicans’ ‘Fair Tax Act’ Proposing Elimination of IRS
Several U.S. House of Representatives Republicans have proposed legislation that would significantly decrease funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The move comes after the newly elected Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, stated that he would challenge the funding granted to the U.S. tax agency in the previous year. Biden Administration Opposes Bill for Rescinding Funding for IRS Enforcement of…
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Good voted for Jordan. Gaetz hasn't voted yet. Depending on how this goes, McCarthy may not have it still. This is too close for comfort.